Feds seize $48 million from Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht

Federal prosecutors in New York announced on Friday the seizure of $48 million from Ross Ulbricht, the darknet market operator and mastermind behind Silk Road.

Ulbrich was convicted in February 2015 for his role in running the online drug marketplace under the pseudonym “Dread Pirate Roberts.”

Manhattan federal prosecutors said Ulbricht gave up his right to the money recently when he “withdrew his claim,” citing an order from U.S. District Court Judge Katherine Forrest, the New York Post reported.

Initially, Ross Ulbricht had contested the right for federal authorities right to seize the loot, which investigators secured after discovering 144,336 bitcoins on his laptop computer during the 2013 raid to arrest the Silk Road founder.